LGBTQ Institute

What an amazing day celebrating 10 years of the LGBTQ+ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, alongside thousands upon thousands of people at Atlanta Pride.

It’s been quite an exhausting but rewarding few days closing out the IGNYTE Symposium, but we are so inspired by the love and good faith people have in the Institute’s mission to cultivate the next generation of advocates.

We shall…proceed…and continue…to fight for rights!

We are thrilled to bring a powerful diplomatic conversation curated and moderated by our very own chair -Evangelo Nasser at our upcoming IGNYTE 2025 Symposium hosted at The National Center for Civil and Human Rights. We will be joined by 5 Consulate members who will share their global perspectives on LGBTQ rights, legislation, cross-cultural community building and advancing policies in our interconnected world of solidarity.

Join us next Friday October 10 by registering at www.lgbtqinstitute.org/ignyte-2025

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It couldn’t have happened without you brother Bayard Rustin. So today, on this 62nd Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, we recommit to speaking truth to power, even or especially when our lips quiver or hands tremble. Courage being so needed in the face of horrific assaults on the very democratic principles you fought for, we both remember and honor your example of what it means to be an angelic troublemaker.”

- Tim’m T. West, Executive Director, LGBTQ+ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights

In a little more than an hour you’re welcome to join the Bayard Rustin Society as one of our young leaders leads a virtual fireside chat about Radical Love and Relentless Justice with Walter Naegle, Emil Wilbekin, and Marcus Lee. Details on the flyer.

Be there! 😊

🌈 Tonight, just ahead of Pride Night at the Atlanta Braves game, I had the honor of accepting a $5,000 gift on behalf of the LGBTQ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

This generous contribution, made possible through the Braves OUT Impact Fund, is more than just a donation — it’s a powerful affirmation of inclusion, equity, and the ongoing fight for dignity and justice for all LGBTQ+ people.

We’re proud to stand at the intersection of sports, community, and civil rights — and even prouder to keep pushing the work forward, together.

The countdown is on! Bayard Rustin Day 2025: Ready to Meet the Moment is happening tomorrow.

Join us on Saturday, March 15, from 2 PM – 4 PM at Saint Mark United Methodist Church for an inspiring afternoon honoring Rustin’s legacy of activism and justice.

Registration closes at midnight on March 14, and while limited spots may be available at the door, we encourage you to secure your spot now. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation and celebrate a civil rights icon.

The LGBTQ+ Institute and its Executive Director, Tim’m West, are proud supporters of this event.

Men Having Babies is a nonprofit organization dedicated to help gay
men in their journey to parenthood. In the conference you can get:
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• An introduction of all the resources available for our community to
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• AND a supportive community of gay dads, surrogates, allies, and
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Sign-up using the following URL:
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Tell friends in education, particularly K-12 education in the U.S. South, to join me for a powerful, FREE webinar:

"Under the Radar Strategies for Support: Supporting LGBTQ+ Students in Anti-LGBTQ+ School Settings" is happening on October 16 from 4-6 PM. If you're an LGBTQ+ or allied educator struggling to create affirming spaces in a non-affirming school, this workshop is for you. Learn subtle yet powerful ways to support LGBTQ+ students when visible signs of inclusion aren't possible.

Let's work together to give our students the education and care they deserve.



Register Today: https://lnkd.in/eU5GdPhg

Great Day 2 of Freedom Summer 3.0 day learning experience. Today, students learned about Fannie Lou Hamer, orgs like the Congress on Racial Equality, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. Students learned about the quiet leadership of Bob Moses, and the loss of life by students, Black and Jewish, local and national, who risked and lost their lives working to register voters in Mississippi. More than 1000 young people were arrested and activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, whose murders led to the largest search in the FBIs history at the time.

So eager to see how today’s young people draw inspiration from the sacrifices of our ancestors to create their own PSAs connected to advocacy issues in 2024 that they are passionate about.

A great way to commemorate the Freedom Summer of 1964.

Powerful story worth sharing today.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8Zev37OPAy/?igsh=bGZueTIyaHFsNmZj

In honor of Juneteenth….. thank you @alimiballard @rbreich for sharing this story about your protector Micheal Schwerner . He was also one of my heros along with James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, who turned out to be kinfolk of one of my co- workers from @citykids_nyc at the time Sara Goodman, heir to the Begrdorf Goodman fashion business. It was their story the film “Mississippi Burning” was based on. In the summer of 1989 when I was 21 years old , I was part of a group that celebrated the 25th anniversary of #TheFreedomRides and we traveled from NYC to Mississippi by Greyhound buses to retrace the steps of the Civil Rights workers who put their lives on the line to ensure that the desegregation laws impacting public transport were indeed being followed. We also visited many historical sites like 16th St Baptist Church in Birmingham , that was fire bombed by white supremacists killing four little black girls —14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and 11-year-old Cynthia Wesley. When we got to Neshoba County Mississippi, we were taunted by local Klan folks who didn’t want us there as “outside agitators”. I went on the trip because as a child born in 1967 , it was hard to imagine that just 3 years before I was born, young people who were my age at the time were willing to die for the “freedoms” we enjoy today like VOTING. I wanted to emotionally and spiritually connect to that part of American history as I saw myself as a continuation of their fight for human justice especially being born at a time of so much social change in this country. I continue to do this work in social/ human justice in education , community and real estate development not as a hobby or trend but as my life’s mission. When you hear the term “Make America Great Again” taken directly from Hitler’s pledge to “Make Germany Great Again” it’s no secret the playbook that is being used here. When I think of those who say they won’t vote or even worse are planning to vote for a convicted felon when convicted felons can’t even vote , it speaks volumes around how little we understand the precarious nature of the times we are living in .